Obama's Fuel Flip-Flops

Barack Obama appears to be a bit Kerry-like when it comes to fuel and vehicles. First, Michelle Malkin reports on a campaign stop by Obama over the weekend in which he ripped the Big 3 auto Detroit makers, complaining that 27mpg is not enough.

The problem with that is that Obama's former car was a Chrysler 300c (which I'd love to drive myself!), which gets an EPA estimated 17/25 fuel economy. After being busted (politically speaking, that is) for driving such a gas guzzler, Obama changed direction with the political wind and traded the muscle car in for a Ford Escape Hybrid. Yippee, problem solved, right? Wrong. Landing in Indiana just yesterday, Barack Obama was photographed getting out of a massive gas-guzzling SUV.


If he's so concerned about emissions from vehicles, you'd think he would be more careful about the vehicles he uses on the campaign trail.

This should come as no surprise, however, as Obama is a consummate liberal, and that means he lives by a different set of rules than all of us rubes out here in the sticks.

On another topic, both Hillary and Obama are suddenly singing a different tune on ethanol now. It seems that there is a tidal wave of momentum shifting away -- it's about time! -- from ethanol as a fuel source that can save the planet:

Obama: "What I've said is, my top priority is making sure people are able to get enough to eat. If it turns out we need to make changes in our ethanol policy to help people get something to eat, that has got to be the step we take," said Mr. Obama on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"We have rising food prices around the United States. In other countries, we're seeing riots because of the lack of food supply, so this is something we're going to have to deal with," the Illinois Democrat said.

Hillary: "What we need to do is accelerate the research into farm waste and into other cellulosic plant materials. Because, I think, instead of using the corn, let's figure out if we can use the corncob," she said.

Despite me poking fun at them for their agenda-driven hypocrisy -- because, after all, we conservatives have been saying we should get rid of ethanol as a fuel source all along -- this is a good thing. If the whole idea of ethanol becomes radioactive, it's one less environmental problem to deal with. It is good to suddenly see some sanity in politics, putting (starving) people ahead of subsidized government pandering. We'll take progress wherever we can find it, right?

Now, if we could just get McCain to drop the urge to legislate 'green-ness', we'd be in business...

There's my two cents.